QR Codes are a type of 2 dimentional (2D) barcode that are commonly used in advertising and supported by most smart phones. These compact codes can make it very easy to get digital data from print into a computer or smart phone.

Originally created for the automotive industry, these codes have exploded into use in print on business cards, in magazines and even seen on web sites. This is because of the increased access to smart phones that can easily scan these codes and transfer the data to the user.

There are a number of uses for these codes. Web links, contact information (vCard) and other useful types of information. Here is an example of a QR Code that you can scan.

The large square patterns you see in three corners of the image are used for positioning. The smaller box you can see in the lower right portion of the image is used for alignment. Connecting the positioning blocks are a series of timing blocks which always alternate light/dark (0/1).This allows the scanning device to recognize and scan regardless of how the pattern is oriented. To make this easier to identify, here is a colored version of the same QR Code with the positioning blocks marked in red, the alignment block is marked in yellow and the timing marks are marked in green.

There are also sections for versioning and formatting which are kept around the positioning blocks. In the image below, the formatting blocks are marked in red and the versioning blocks are marked in yellow.

The remaining blocks make up the content information and associated error correction data. As the amount of data grows, more alignment markers are inserted into the image. It is important to print the image in a large enough size. If the image is too small or too dense, scanners could have trouble reading the data back.

If you would like to create your own QR Codes, there are several web sites that let you do this. We actually have our own QR Code generator on this site where you can create your very own QR Codes for any use you like and it is totally FREE!